Full-time cartoonist

Hibiki Higashino looked at the photo. At the entrance gate of Kamakura High School, there were countless readers taking commemorative photos, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

"It really turned out like this."

In other places in Kamakura, there are also young tourists.

The influence of "Slam Dunk" on Kamakura has been astonishing.

"Thank you," Hibiki Higashino put the photo away carefully, "It's been a big help."

"You're so welcome," Kyouko Akagi happily slapped Hibiki Higashino on the shoulder, "Just work hard on "Slam Dunk". Don't stop publishing anymore."

When she said the last sentence, she approached Hibiki Hibiki with a dangerous expression.

Then he said kindly: "It's hard for me to wait."

Hua Chao nodded.

Dongye Xiang: "..."

After chatting about the current situation for a while, Hibiki waved goodbye to them.

While going home, he sighed that his classmates in high school were now on the right track.

Some became teachers, some were breeders, some were trainees as lawyers, and some became famous.

"That's great, now."

…

In the evening, neither Hibiki nor Akimiya Akemi had the appetite to eat, so he simply made mung bean porridge and fried shredded potatoes.

When he woke up the next day, Higashino Hibiki was sore all over, but he had no time to relieve the pain. At eight o'clock in the morning, assistants came to work.

He and Akimiya Akemi had to get up quickly.

Just after Hibiki brushed his teeth and washed his face and walked out of the bathroom, Omori came with breakfast.

"Mr. Tori Akino, these are the buns I bought after queuing for a long time. Eat them while they are hot. They are very delicious."

Taking advantage of Higashino Hibiki's wedding and honeymoon trip, Omori had a good rest for 5 days. He looked rosy and full of energy.

"good……"

Higashikata replied weakly.

"Teacher, what are you doing?" Omori hesitated, and after a while he joked: "Even if you are newly married, teacher, you should pay attention to moderation."

Dong Yexiang raised his head and glared at him, then took out the bun.

"What kind of stuffing is this?"

"Pork and green onions."

Dongye Xiang nodded, he would never get tired of eating this combination.

He hadn't eaten steamed buns for a long time, and he was looking forward to it.

However, after taking a bite, Hibiki Higashi missed the filling.

"This happens to Baozi too."

He comforted himself and took another big mouthful. Just after chewing twice, Higashikata looked up.

He looked at Dasen with dull eyes, "..."

"What's wrong, teacher?" Omori asked with concern.

"It's okay..." Looking at the buns, Higashikata hesitated, "These are made with pork and green onions."

"Yeah." Dasen nodded.

Higashino Hibiki was speechless, "Then why is it sweet..."

"It's sweet and delicious."

"Oh." Higashikata sighed, made enough mental preparations, and mustered up the courage to finish the bun in his hand, "Thank you, Omori."

"As long as the teacher likes it." Omori gave a thumbs up.

Contrary to Hibiki Higashino's expectations, Akimiya Akemi is very receptive to sweet pork and green onion buns. This may be due to regional differences.

Not long after, Tanaka also came, bringing bread to satisfy Higashikata's hunger.

"Hey..." Tanaka looked at Higashi Hibiki longingly, "That's my breakfast..."

…

After everyone had eaten and drank, Hibiki Higashi felt energetic.

“It’s time to draw comics!”

He sat down on the main seat and started his daily work again. Akimiya Akemi's new work was still being storyboarded, which would not affect the assistant's work.

After working for two hours, Higashino sighed. He knew he could no longer escape, so he got up and went outside to make a call with Sasaki.

More than half an hour later, there was an irregular and frequent knock on the door.

Higashino responded, so Sasaki took out the key and opened the door.

As soon as he entered the living room, he could see the working scene of Tori Akino Studio as usual, so he nodded with satisfaction.

"That's great."

However, Sasaki's eyes soon flashed with haze, and he said to Hibiki Toriyama: "Tori Akino-sensei, can you talk to me?"

"Of course." Dong Ye said clearly, knowing why he came.

The two came to the study room.

Omori took a curious look, but found that his seniors were still drawing comics, so he swallowed his curiosity and started working hard.

…

"Sit down, Mr. Sasaki."

Higashino Hibiki pointed to the seat opposite and said to Sasaki who was thinking.

"Well," Sasaki nodded solemnly. After he sat down, he pondered for a long time and finally spoke, "Toriakino-kun, are you saying that "Slam Dunk" is about to be finished?"

"That's right," Hibiki Higashino replied, "but it will be serialized for about another year and a half."

After Higashino Hibiki informed Toshima Kazuhiko of the end time of "Slam Dunk", Toriyama Kazuhiko was stunned for a moment, but he quickly accepted it because of his previous agreement.

He also fulfilled his promise and promoted the completion of "Slam Dunk" as the editor-in-chief of Jump.

In the end, they were still friends, which made Hibiki Higashino very happy.

Torishima Kazuhiko said that he would inform Shueisha's upper management and responsible editors to stop their pressure.

But Hibiki decided to tell Sasaki himself.

He and Sasaki are partners, so Hibiki hopes the two can be honest with each other.

"Why do you think of ending it?" Sasaki asked, shaking his hands.

"Slam Dunk" was at its peak at this time, and its average sales volume of a single volume was unprecedented.

There are still many things that can be drawn in the comics. The national competition is not over yet, and Aki no Kokutai is still worth drawing.

Due to emotion and reason, we should continue to draw.

The reason for Hibiki Higashino is naturally that Mr. Inoue ended "Slam Dunk" here. Instead of continuing the story, he might as well start another legendary work.

On the other hand, "Slam Dunk" was too hard to draw. For ordinary comics on Jump, each episode requires a team to work day and night.

What's more, it's a comic like "Slam Dunk" that is realistic and requires a huge amount of work.

Every week of serialization is a kind of torture, and with Hibiki Hibiki occasionally dual-playing, the workload becomes even greater.

He has been supporting it for almost five years, from a minor student to a 23-year-old social youth.

When he came to this world, he spent most of his time painting "Slam Dunk".

It would be interesting if Hibiki Higashino gets bored and spends more time on more fresh works.

Moreover, Higashino Hibiki can also understand Inoue Takehiko's thoughts.

Takehiko Inoue is a very pure person who doesn't care much about profit and pursues the quality of his works more.

In "Slam Dunk", readers witnessed the growth of the Shohoku basketball team, cried together, and were inspired. By the time of the Mountain King battle, this emotion reached its extreme. So it's finished.

Hibiya Hibiki replied, "Regret is also a part of youth."

Readers will remember the end of Xiangbei that summer, and be shocked and saddened by it.

It ends abruptly, with the beauty of blank space.

Hibiki Higashino once saw that more than 20 years after the completion of "Slam Dunk", there was a vote for the ten most successful manga endings, and "Slam Dunk" was among them.

It’s the recognition that time bestows on a slam dunk ending.

Maybe some readers and viewers think "Slam Dunk" is a bad ending, but more people think "Slam Dunk" has the best ending.

Sasaki was speechless.

What he was talking about was profit, while Tori Akino valued the value of his works.

There is nothing more to say.

Jump is a business magazine, and the most important thing for editors is that comics bring value to the editorial department.

But he felt powerless to talk about this in front of Tori Akino Mirai.

Sasaki and Hibiki Hibiki have known each other for more than six years and know him very well.

The man in front of me is very confident. He firmly believes that after finishing "Slam Dunk", he can also draw high-value works.

He is also indifferent and does not blindly pursue money.

It’s very difficult to do.

"Yeah." Sasaki nodded.

Sasaki is fully aware of the agreement between Tori Akino Mirai and Torishima Kazuhiko. As the editor of Tori Akino Mirai, he has fulfilled his responsibilities.

Just let the guy in front of you be relieved.

Sasaki thought.

"Thank you for informing me, Tori Akino-kun."

"I have to inform Mr. Sasaki."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

…

The relationship between people is very fragile, and sometimes it overrides interests.

Hibiki Higashino and Sasaki are the latter.

Watching Sasaki's leaving figure, Hibiki felt warm in his heart.

He still understood himself and did not ask himself to continue drawing "Slam Dunk".

After Higashino Hibiki returned to the studio, Akimiya Akemi raised her head and asked, "Is that what happened?"

Dong Yexiang nodded.

"As expected." Tanaka sighed sadly. "Slam Dunk" is almost over, and he has to find a new job.

"Eh?" Monk Omori Zhanger was confused, "What on earth is going on?"

Higashino answered seriously, "It's a very important thing."

"Okay, let's start working." He returned to the main seat and started drawing comics.

"Ah?" Omori looked at Tanaka.

Tanaka, "The drawing is wrong here, correction fluid, correction fluid."

He looked at Akimiya Akemi again.

Akimiya Akemi stood up and handed the finished manuscript to Hibiki Hibiki.

"So what is going on!"

…

Two days later, Inoue Kaede contacted Higashino Hibiki and wanted to get together again.

After Hibiki Higashino met him, it turned out to be about the end of "Slam Dunk".

Hibiki Higashino analyzes the idea...

"That's how it should be! This is "Slam Dunk"!"

Supervisor Kaede Inoue, a staff member of Toei Animation Production Company, actually greatly approved of it.

He liked the ending very much, and with this thought, his words were very unconvincing.

This dinner party eventually evolved into a discussion on how to leave blank space at the end of "Slam Dunk".

…

Time flies by and October is here.

After Hibiki Higashino successfully persuaded Sasaki and Kaede Inoue, they felt relieved and wrote more freely.

"Slam Dunk" has won Xiao Zheng's first place many times in a row.

But this time, Komasa No. 1’s work is “One Piece”.

Its content is set in the small town where everything started - Rogge Town.

It was here that Roger, the Pirate King, was executed and said that sentence.

"Do you want my treasure? If you want it, I'll give it to you! Go find it! The Grand Line! I put everything in the world there!"

Now, Straw Hat Luffy is also being executed here by Bucky the Clown.

Luffy faced his own death frankly and showed a smile. This close-up shocked countless readers.

The performance of "One Piece" has also reached a new level.

…

"With "Slam Dunk" and "One Piece" here, the current jump is so powerful!"

"It's so interesting. They are all wonderful comics, and I can't put them down."

"However, it has only been two years since the serialization of "One Piece" began. Compared with the results of "Slam Dunk", it still has a long way to go."

"Oda Eiichiro's painting skills and storyboarding are far inferior to Tori Akino Mirai. The two are like apprentices and masters."

Unconsciously, readers began to compare Oda and Hibiki Hibiki.

Although most people think that "One Piece" is not as good as "Slam Dunk", the fact that it can be compared is enough to illustrate the success of Eiichiro Oda.

Yoshihiro Togashi, who is currently serializing "Hunter Hunter", has not become a highly discussed cartoonist due to the update of "Hunter". Although his works have many innovative points, such as the setting of Nian, he has not become a highly discussed cartoonist.

Weaker than the newcomer Oda.

He obviously did a good job serializing last year, but in 1999, he still slacked off.

…

Eiichiro Oda is becoming more and more motivated.

He saw the possibility of a future beyond Tori Akino.

Maybe I can cross this big mountain by myself.

The shadow cast by Tori Akino's future dissipated for a while.

When he was Tori Akino's future assistant, he was still the same as before, cheerful and lively, and confident in himself.

But that was Tori Akino Mirai after all. He realized Tori Akino’s comic skills. What frightened him even more was that Tori Akino never hesitated.

It was as if the entire plot of "Slam Dunk" was in his mind, and he easily wrote wonderful storyboards without discussing it.

A creative cartoonist like me has to discuss with editors for several hours every week and brainstorm with assistants to decide on the content of the storyboard.

Compared with Tori Akino Mirai, he is far behind.

It was a hexagonal warrior with perfect painting skills and plot. It was like a mountain king, carrying an invincible pressure.

"call."

Oda breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tori Akino-sensei is not invincible."

…

Compared with the successful Oda Eiichiro, Kishimoto Masashi's comic journey has just begun.

From the serialization to the present, he has managed to overcome the worry of being cut in half and has become a reliable cartoonist.

"Oda is really admirable," Masashi Kishimoto's eyes were shining as he looked at Komasa's report.

Except for the first episode of the series, he has never won the first place in Xiaozheng.

Not to mention "Slam Dunk". "Hunter" and "One Piece" are comics that are beyond his reach.

"I still have to work hard."

He stood up and rushed to a nearby coffee shop.

Regarding the plot of the next episode of "Naruto", I would also like to ask the editor Mr. Yahagi for advice.

After arriving at the cafe, Masashi Kishimoto took out the storyboards he drew and exchanged them with Yahagi.

After seeing it, he was shocked.

"As expected, Mr. Yahagi, what you think is more interesting..."

He is too young.